USE OF THE MISSISSIPPI SCALE FOR COMBAT-RELATED PTSD IN DETECTING WAR-RELATED, NON-COMBAT STRESS SYMPTOMATOLOGY

This study investigated the effectiveness of the Mississippi Scale for Desert Storm War Zone Personnel (M-PTSD-DS), developed from the Missi ssippi Scale for Combat Related PTSD (M-PTSD; Keane, Caddell, & Taylor , 1988), in the measurement of varying degrees of war-related post-tra umatic stress (PTS) symptomatology of non-combat Persian Gulf War vete rans. Thirty Marines were administered the M-PTSD-DS after 3 months of active duty in Operation Desert Storm. The M-PTSD-DS scores of the Ma rines were related significantly to the number of PTS symptoms reporte d by the Marines. This scale appears to be quite effective in detectin g varying degrees of war-related stress in non-combatants.